Well, Jane, since the limits of your research skills regarding ADHD 
and MPH. seem to be the PDR, I'll provide more recent, and more complete, 
research on the use of stimulants with ADHD.
This isn't from the PDR. Information in the PDR comes from the drug
manufacturer (in Ritalin's case, Ciba-Geigy). They aren't about to send in
research based on the generic form of Ritalin (methylphenidate) as their goal
is to sell the non-generic form. However, researcher almost always use the
generic form. This is one more reason that suggestions that the researchers
and the drug companies are somehow consipiring together is silly.
Here's what I found, quite easily, on the Internet just now.
I went to the Internet and quite easily found this study summary. I'm
including selected sections that correspond to  misinformation recently
posted in this folder. The formatting is mine to make it a little easier to
read. Other than that, no content changes were made.
Stimulants - Efficacy Conclusions (Gittelman-Klein 1987, Green 1992,
Greenhill 1992)
(note: MPD stands for "methylphenidate," the generic form of Ritalin. The
generic form is almost always used in research -- another reason Ciba Geigy
is not about to quote these studies when they send information for listing in
PDR -- and all information in the PDR comes from the *drug company.*)
Long-term use: There do not appear to be any adverse long term behavioral
effects resulting from chronic stimulant use. A group of adults who had taken
MPD for 3 or more years as children were found to have
     fewer psychiatric problems
     fewer car accidents
     more independent lives
     more were attending school
     a more positive view of their childhood
     and were less aggressive than a similar group of formerly 
       untreated hyperactive adults
(Hechtman et al 1984).
       * There are a total of 6 double-blind placebo controlled ADHD 
fficacy,
studies 6 involving methylphenidate, 3 dextroamphetamine, 3 caffeine, and 1
pemoline. A total of 152 patients were studied.
       *Methylphenidate,dextroamphetamine, and pemoline appear equally 
effective in treating ADHD. The 3 psychostimulants were found to more 
effective than caffeine and placebo. A summary of the studies is 
presented in Table 1. 
       *The psychostimulants are the first line drugs in the treatment of
ADHD. 
       *The stimulants MPD, DAS, and pemoline are equivalent in ADHD
efficacy. 
       *Stimulants normalize hyperactivity. Classroom behaviors such as
noncompliance and interference are normalized by the drugs. However, not all
behaviors are normalized by the stimulants. 
        *Stimulants have a positive impact on the social behavior of
hyperactive children. Stimulants improve the adult responses toward the
children. This is clinically significant since teachers' behavior toward the
medicated hyperactive child becomes indistinguishable from their behavior
toward normal students. 
        *The opinion that stimulants do not have any effect on classroom
learning and performance is debatable. The only adequately controlled study
that investigated this issue found that methylphenidate 0.3 mg/kg/d improved
performance on arithmetical and language tasks (Douglas et al 1986). 
        *Aggressive behavior including stealing and vandalism is improved by
standard doses of MPD 0.3-0.6 mg/kg. 
        *Stimulants decrease friction between sibs and peers. and improve
maternal child-interactions. 
So, Janey, you see what real information is? Not your conspiratorial 
conjecture. (Note, Jane recently accused me in ALTMED of being a lackey 
for Ciba Geigy and a defender of Ritalin.)
I have a brief post regarding conspiracy theorists.
 * RM 1.31  * Eval Day 15 * Is this Heaven. No. Smell, its Iowa.
--- Platinum Xpress/Wildcat! v1.3
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